Kamchatka Peninsula
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Template:Redirect Image:Sea of Okhotsk map.png Kamchatka Peninsula (Russian: полуо́стров Камча́тка) is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of 472,300 km². It lies between the Pacific Ocean (to the east) and the Sea of Okhotsk (to the west). Between the peninsula and the Pacific Ocean runs the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench with a depth of 10,500 m.
The central valley and the Kamchatka River are flanked by large volcanic ranges, containing around 160 volcanoes, 29 of them still active. Thus, the peninsula has the highest density of volcanos and associated volcanic phenomena in the world, 19 active volcanos being inscribed by the UNESCO on the World Heritage List.
Image:Avachinsky Volcano.jpg The highest of these is Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4750 m or 15,584 ft), while the most striking is Kronotsky, whose perfect cone (in the words of the celebrated volcanologists Robert and Barbara Decker) is one of the prime candidates for the world's most beautiful volcano. Somewhat more accessible are the 3 volcanoes visible from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: Koryaksky, Avachinsky, and Kozelsky. In the center of Kamchatka is Eurasia's only Geyser Valley.
Kamchatka's wildlife includes brown bears, snow ram, sable, wolverine, Golden Eagle, and Gyr Falcon. The peninsula is the breeding ground for Steller's Sea Eagle, the largest eagle on Earth. The largest animals in the world, blue whales, are abundant near the coastline.
The peninsula is thought to include the world's greatest diversity of salmonid fish. Accordingly, the Kurilsky Lake is recognized as the biggest spawning-ground for salmon in Eurasia.
Image:Kamchatka peninsula topo.jpg The Kamchatka Peninsula is a part of the Russian Kamchatka Oblast (along with a part of the continent, the Komandorskiye Islands and Karaginsky Island). The majority of the 402,500 inhabitants are Russians, and the largest minority are the Koryaks. The northern part of the peninsula is occupied by the Koryakia Autonomous District, where around 13,000 Koryaks live.
During the Cold War, the Soviets tested the range and reliability of their missiles by launching them from standard sites, using Kamchatka Peninsula as the target area.
In early August 2005, the Priz class AS-28 Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle of the Russian Navy was disabled in a submarine accident near Kamchatka and sunk to the seafloor, requiring an international effort to rescue the crew.
See also
External links
- Template:Ru icon Commander Islands - Командорские острова
- www.kamchatkadventures.com
- www.kamchatka.org.ru
- www.kamchatkaexplorer.com
- www.travelkamchatka.com
- Google Mapsbg:Камчатка
de:Kamtschatka es:Península de Kamchatka eo:Kamĉatko fr:Kamtchatka he:חצי האי קמצ'טקה ko:캄차카 반도 it:Kamchatka nl:Kamtsjatka (schiereiland) ja:カムチャツカ半島 pl:Kamczatka (półwysep) pt:Península de Kamchatka ru:Камчатский полуостров sl:Kamčatka fi:Kamtšatkan niemimaa sv:Kamtjatka vi:Bán đảo Kamchatka zh:堪察加半島